27 Carnal vs. Spiritual Living

In the early portion of Romans chapter 8, Paul described how the believer is no longer the condemnation of the guilt of sin.

And the key, is that the believer is “in” Christ, meaning they have a personal relationship with Him.

Therefore, the Lord will not, nor can not condemn one of His children.

In the next section of the chapter, Paul begins to contrast the differences between carnal (fleshly) and spiritual living.

1 The Flesh Cannot Please God

Romans 8:5-8

In verse 4, Paul had shown how the believer fulfills God’s righteous requirements, as they are led by the Spirit rather than their flesh.

In verse 5, begins to contrast what it means to live according to the flesh as opposed to walking in the Spirit.

He shows that one might see what kind of person they are, by determining where their mind is “set”. In the original Greek it is rendered as “established”.

Ther term was often used when describing how an army might choose a particular strategic location as their staging area for their actions. They have in essence “set” or established the location.

Our mind is that “staging area” and becomes the location of an ongoing battle, often referred to as “spiritual warfare”.

In the same way a literal army is only as strong as its resources, and will often-times require reinforcements, believers also require the continuous reinforcements from God’s Word.

Therefore, the believer’s mind must “set” and established in the things of God. Paul said as much in his letter to the Philippians:

Philippians 4:8

It’s important to understand, that Paul’s words, weren’t only directed at “carnal” or backslidden Christians, but are for each of us.

Every believer is vulnerable to both Satanic attacks, as well as the weakness of their flesh, which is what is shown in the following passage:

Matthew 16:23

In verse 6, Paul showed that to be “carnally minded” brings only death, since as he had previously established, the flesh is unable to produce anything other than death, which alluded to what he had previously discussed:

Romans 8:2

In verses 7 and 8, he then showed how the carnal mind is in complete opposition to the Lord:

Romans 8:7-8

Paul specifically stated that the carnal mind is “enmity against God:” using a word which is defined as “being completely opposed or hostile to someone or something”.

2 Spiritual Empowering

Romans 8:9-11

When Paul said that the believer “(is) not in the flesh, but in the Spirit” he is connecting us to what he had shown in chapter 7, that the “real” or “true” person of the believer is their spiritual component, which will spend eternity in God’s presence.

Only the Christian’s spirit has been regenerated, which means that our bodies and minds remain corrupt, and dying.

The Holy Spirit indwells the spirit of every believer, this becoming the Father’s “earnest” or “deposit” to show that they belong to him and will spend eternity in His presence

Therefore, because the believer has new life in Christ, they are not “in” the flesh, but rather “in the Spirit”.

This recalls the words of Jesus to His disciples:

John 15:26

In verse 10, encapsulates his points made in the previous verses, by saying that the believers’ body is “dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness”.

Paul said much the same thing when he made the following statement to the Galatian believers:

Galatians 2:20

To that end, in verse 11, Paul spoke of how the same power which raised Jesus from the grave, also resides in our regenerated spirits:

Romans 8:11